THE Medway area of Kent is to host an international conference aimed at putting the region on the map as a Continental-style city of culture.

Sir David Frost, the television presenter who grew up in Gillingham, will be one of the speakers at the event in June. Medway, one of 24 urban areas in the UK earmarked for urban renaissance by the Government, is said to have many similarities with the Spanish city of Bilbao.

Kathy Wadsworth, Medway Council's assistant director of economic development, said the conference would be a landmark event. Speaking in Cannes, where she is attending an international property show which attracts 16,000 experts to the French Riviera, said the Medway event would be a wonderful showcase for the area.

"You look at the similarities of Bilbao, a city on a river which went through a lot of industrial decline, and they used culture and very good buildings as design to regenerate the city. We think the time is right to market Medway and we are looking to go up market."

Another speaker will be coming from Bilbao in Spain. Alfonso Martinez Cearra will explain how the Guggenheim Museum - a design icon - helped transform the Spanish city.

Medway is widely seen as having the potential to become the Thames Gateway City of Culture.

Kathy Wadsworth hoped that 150 property experts would attend the conference, at the Colonial Building in Chatham Maritime, and that they would be interested in working with the council on four key proposed planned projects; improvements at Strood, Rochester riverside, Chatham town centre and a tramway system.

The University of Kent at Medway, which has just received approval for £24 million of Government cash, is also heavily involved in next year's conference. The so-called Universities at Medway project will bring 6,000 students to Medway by 2010.

Kent Institute of Arts and Design will produce a multi-media presentation for next year's conference and helicopters will fly delegates for an overview of the city.

The event on June 19 is backed by the South East England Development Agency which has a local office in Chatham Maritime.

South East England Development Agency chairman Alan Willett will also be a guest speaker and Medway Council also hopes that Government Minister Lord Falconer will also attend.